COVID-19 and hospital infection prevention and control awareness among health care workers in a tertiary care hospital: A questionnaire-based survey

Agarwal S,Sonkar L,Verma D,Garg A,Prakash V,Jafar H

doi:10.17727/jmsr.2021/9-34

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the frontline warriors in combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and due of the unavailability of targeted therapy, infection prevention and control practices (IPC) remain their key weapon. Effective implementation of recommended IPC strategies is essential for prevention of transmission of COVID-19 infection in health care settings. So, periodic assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of HCWs is required to provide adequate health education and training. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and practices of health care workers regarding COVID-19 relevant IPC practices. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital from 1st April to 15th April 2021. A 21-item questionnaire was developed based on recommendations of World Health Organizatio (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC). The questionnaire was shared with faculty, postgraduate residents and medical undergraduates via whatsapp messenger. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17 and Chi-square test was used for comparing variables. Results: A total of 317 participants had responded, out of which 55% were females. Majority of the respondents were medical undergraduates (70%) followed by medical postgraduates (18%) and faculty (12%). The mean cumulative KAP score of study participants was 18.01+2.08, suggesting that a good number of participants had adequate knowledge, positive attitude and appropriate practices. Conclusion: Our survey showed that the study participants had adequate awareness and adherence to COVID-19 relevant IPCs recommendations. Periodic training programs are still needed to address the shortcomings in infection control and prevention. Keywords: COVID-19; knowledge; attitude; practice; healthcare workers; infection prevention; control

Highlights

The fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding COVID-19 was convened by the WHO Director-General on 31 July 2020
WHO has published a draft for Target Product Profiles (TPP) for COVID-19 therapeutics
For World Breastfeeding Week, WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments to protect and promote women’s access to skilled breastfeeding counselling. This is a critical component of breastfeeding support and, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more important to find innovative solutions to ensure that access to these essential services is not disrupted

Summary

Introduction

The fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding COVID-19 was convened by the WHO Director-General on 31 July 2020. WHO has published a draft for Target Product Profiles (TPP) for COVID-19 therapeutics. COVID-19, ranging from mild through critically ill patients.

Results

Conclusion